In a moment like this
by CamsthiSky
Summary: Drabble series. Probably full of angst and hurt/comfort and family feels and enough fluff to make you die. Drabble 1 - Promise: "Don't give up," Takeshi told him, whispered, because he couldn't bear to make himself speak louder than the other's croaking, hoarse voice. "Don't ever give up. We'll save you."
1. Promise

"I'm not sure how long I can keep this up."

Takeshi just shook his head, his knees tucked under him as he sat by the bedside of his savior and friend. He tried for his usual carefree smile that could disarm tense situations and send high-strung bombers on rampages. Managing only a ghost of his grin, Takeshi looked over at the gaunt face of his best friend. Their eyes met, and Takeshi could still see the hidden strength of his Dying Will echoing in those brown eyes.

"Don't give up," Takeshi told him, whispered, because he couldn't bear to make himself speak louder than the other's croaking, hoarse voice. "Don't ever give up. We'll save you."

Tsuna grinned, his dry lips splitting slightly, but despite the wave of sadness that rolled over Takeshi when he watched Tsuna struggle just to be happy, he couldn't help but feel somewhat relieved. Despite all of this, Tsuna was still finding some semblance of joy in his misery. Takeshi could only hope that he could keep that smile on Tsuna's face for as long as possible. God knows he'd be lost without it.

"If I don't give up, then you won't lose your smile, right?" Tsuna asked. "Will you promise me that?"

Takeshi's stomach fluttered. There was pressure building up behind his eyes and in his throat, but Takeshi didn't want the pleasure of finding out what it was.

"I won't lose my smile as long as you're here, Tsuna," Takeshi told him, his voice steady despite the wetness of his eyes. "That's a promise I will always keep."

Tsuna's eyelids slid closed, but a soft smile remained on his face. "Then I won't ever give up."

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 **Another drabble series. I'm about to die of all of the ideas exploding in my head. We'll see if any of them ever get written.**


	2. I Might Kill A Man

"I might kill a man."

"You've already killed, Tsuna."

"But what if I go further this time," Tsuna countered, the distress evident in his brown eyes. The way his lips thinned, the way his eyebrows furrowed and his nose crinkled, the way the light from his eyes faded, leaving nothing but dull brown instead of lively caramel. Tsuna brought his voice down to a whisper. "What if I enjoy it?"

"And what if you do?" Reborn asked, his onyx eyes blank, his face expressionless. "Will that make you any less of a person?"

Tsuna's head dropped. "Reborn. I don't want to kill anyone-"

"Then don't."

Lifting his head, surprised brown eyes were caught by the sudden furiousness of onyx, and Tsuna was entranced. From expressionless to enraged. Reborn, the master of masking his emotions, let go of all training and let his anger show through the cracks in the wall he had built to keep everyone out.

"You can't know if-"

"But _you_ can," Reborn said, voice still calm besides the overbearing rage settling in his eyes. "If you don't want to kill, then don't kill, Tsuna. Just get Fuuta out of there and never look back."

Tsuna, stunned, could only watch as Reborn stood up, towering over the brunet at his full height. The hitman said nothing more, but Tsuna realized that he didn't have to. He'd said all he needed to say.

Tentatively, Tsuna nodded. "Alright. I'll get Fuuta back and I won't kill anybody."

Reborn scrutinized Tsuna with one last look before he swept out of the room, leaving a tenseness that Tsuna had never felt before. Sometimes, Reborn's words scared him more than his actions did.

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 **Here's another one. Don't really know what I'm doing with my life. Should be finishing up chapter 17 of War Torn, but I'm a little stuck. Hopefully it'll be out soon.**


	3. Fireworks

**This one is quite a bit lighter than the last two. Enjoy!**

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"Fireworks?" Tsuna asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is there a reason?"

Kyoko shrugged, dusting her hands off as she stood up. Behind her, their friends were arguing over who was going to light the first rocket. Gokudera held the lighter up, arm reaching towards the sky as he pushed a hand into Yamamoto's face to stop the baseball player from getting closer. Lambo was whining, attached to Gokudera's leg, Ryohei was laughing his head off, and Haru was pouting, her foot stomping the ground irritably as she struggled to get the situation under control. Not much different from other days, really.

"Does there have to be?" Kyoko finally asked.

Tsuna crinkled his nose. "This sounds like one of Reborn's plans," he mumbled, decidedly not looking at his golden haired friend anymore. He kept his eyes trained on the lighter as the fight between his other friends started to get out of control. If they weren't careful, they could set the whole park on fire. "And Reborn's plan always involve harassing me in some way."

Sending him a smile, Kyoko put a hand on his arm. "Not everything is about the mafia, Tsuna-kun. And Reborn isn't here right now. He's in Italy."

"So _why_?" Tsuna asked. "The ceremony is in a couple of days. I'm way too nervous to do something like this."

Kyoko just sighed. "Yamamoto-kun noticed, and when he told Haru-chan and I, we figured you could use a little pick-me-up."

He blinked, not totally understanding what Kyoko was saying. "You did this…for _me_?"

"Of course!" A blinding smile was sent his way, and Tsuna felt some of the tension fall from his shoulders. "We're your friends, Tsuna-kun! We'd do anything for you!"

And Tsuna could tell that she meant it in every way. The same way he would fight and die for his friends, they would do the same for him.

"Oh," he finally said, not really knowing how to feel about that. "Oh."

Kyoko had a knowing look in her eyes when she tugged on his hand, leading him over to where everyone else was getting ready to light the fireworks. He made sure to look at each and every one of them. They were doing this for him, giving him some normalcy before his life descended into mafia hell. A rush of what Tsuna recognized as familial love whelmed up inside of him—a torrent so strong and that Tsuna felt like he was going to be swept up in it and _drown_.

"Tsuna-san!" Haru called, pressing the lighter into his hand. How she extracted it from Gokudera, Tsuna would never know. "You can light the first one!"

"Alright." Tsuna felt his face split into a grin. This was what it felt like to have a family.

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 **On tumblr, I'm _hometothesky_. Come say hi! And if you have a request, let me know and I might do it. I do have a prompt meme going on right now on my bog, so drop by and leave an ask if you're up to it!**


	4. Seeing Orange

Some people had a problem with seeing red. Their anger took control of their body, their rational mind getting taken over by the irrational rage that usually hid deep inside. Most people hardly remembered having any control of their own actions, too fueled by the one emotion that told them to _hurt, hurt, hurt_.

Tsuna was different, though.

Of course he got angry. Who didn't? But when Tsuna got upset, angry enough to rage and hate the world, he couldn't see any other color but the blazing orange that surrounded his hands. The orange of his flame calmed him down, _drove_ him, really, and it was with a single-minded clearness that Tsuna executed exactly what he set out to do, no matter what. Gokudera's anger was much easier to calm than his own, and Tsuna felt some sort of envious.

He had brought it up to the bomber one day when they were sitting in his room, studying for some test Tsuna knew he was probably going to fail anyways.

"Orange?" Gokudera asked. "Like your flames, Tenth?"

Tsuna nodded, sighing. "I wish that I didn't get so angry sometimes. I feel like I'm going to lose myself in it."

Gokudera set aside his textbook, looking contemplative. "I don't think anger is a bad thing necessarily," he told Tsuna, and the brunet mentally groaned. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to talk to _Gokudera_ about anger after all.

"I get too caught up in it," Tsuna argued anyways. "It's like…It's like I don't exactly feel like _me_." And yet at the same time, it really _was_ exactly him. Just a hidden part of him. Angrier and sadder than the rest of him and Tsuna didn't know how to quell that part of him at all.

"Well if you're angry for the right cause, what's the harm in it?" Gokudera asked, pointing a pen at him. "Excuse me for this, Tenth, but who cares if you get angry sometimes? You're human and humans get mad."

Tsuna sucked in a breath. "But I've killed people because of it."

"No," Gokudera said, and he was solemn, and his eyes were sad. "You've killed people because they were trying to take away your family, and in my opinion, that's more than enough to get angry over."


	5. Family No Matter What

" _It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself."_

"I'm not," Tsuna argued weakly, poking a sushi roll with his chop sticks that did nothing to make Takeshi feel reassured.

"Not trying to convince yourself?" Takeshi asked when it looked like Tsuna would say nothing further on the subject. "Or not okay?"

A glare was sent the baseball player's way, but there was hardly any heat behind it. Takeshi held it, only looking away when Tsuna sighed deeply—a world weary sigh that held too many undercurrents to identify. Well, for _him_ to identify, anyways. He was pretty sure Gokudera had Tsuna's sighs pegged to a T. The bomber could probably hear Tsuna sigh from across the mansion, turn around, and murmur, _"I should wait to send in this paper work. The Tenth is tired."_

That wasn't Takeshi's forte. Where Gokudera was proactive, trying to ease things before they got too bad, Takeshi was kind of like the janitor of feelings. He was the cavalry called in when Gokudera's methods failed.

Which was why Takeshi and Tsuna were sitting in TakeSushi playing with their food. Because something was wrong. Tsuna was starting to look more like a ghost than he was Takeshi's best friend, and no one could figure out what to do about it.

"I'm fine, Yamamoto," Tsuna mumbled. He stabbed his sushi roll a little too hard, the salmon inside falling out. "You didn't need to take me all the way to Japan just to have sushi. You could have just had the chef make you some."

Takeshi blew out a large exhale. Tsuna was awesome most of the time, but sometimes Takeshi hated how well he could miss the point. "It's all about the journey, Tsuna," Takeshi said. "Besides, you know how my dad is. It's his sushi or nothing."

Tsuna just hummed, and Takeshi's shoulders slumped. This was going absolutely nowhere.

"Gokudera's getting worried," he tried.

"He shouldn't be. I'm perfectly fine." Tsuna's jaw clenched.

"You shouldn't lie to yourself."

Tsuna's fist slammed down on the counter, rattling the plates and cups, and leaving an oppressive silence in its wake. Takeshi waited for Tsuna to slump in his seat. Waited for his best friend to hunch his shoulders, to deflate and finally, _finally_ let him in.

He wasn't disappointed.

Takeshi might not be Gokudera, he might not have Tsuna's moods categorized by sigh, but he still knew Tsuna enough to understand that Tsuna had breaking points. And getting angry at his friends when they pushed him to talk was breaking point number two, right behind threatening his family.

When Tsuna slumped down, Takeshi was right there, slinging a comforting arm around his shoulders and pulling him closer.

"Sorry," Tsuna said, and he had tears gathering in his eyes. "'M sorry."

Takeshi shot him a gentle smile. "Nothing to be sorry about, Tsuna. Just remember that we're family, and I'm always here for you. No matter what."

Tsuna nodded, scrubbing at his eyes, and _talked_. As he did, a thousand pounds seemed to lift off his shoulders and he looked so much more alive than he'd been in the past few days.

 _Family no matter what._

And Takeshi would always be there to remind him.

* * *

 **This was a prompt from the prompt meme I'm doing on tumblr. The prompt was "It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself" with Tsuna and Yamamoto. Thanks for the ask, Alslan!**


	6. I Don't Understand

**I imagine this set after the end of the series, but not quite TYL**

* * *

"I'm so sorry, Tenth!" Gokudera yelled, dropping to his knees to smash his head against the ground. Tsuna hardly even blinked anymore. Controlling Gokudera's tendencies to hurt himself in self-punishment was hardly anything new. Still, being used to it didn't mean Tsuna had to like it. "I promise it won't happen again!"

Tsuna crouched down to be eyelevel with his friend. "Gokudera-kun."

The bomber sat up quickly, barely missing running into the brunet in front of him. His eyes were shining with—well, admiration was a possibility, but tears of pain were more likely. Gokudera tended to go overboard without thinking about the consequences. "Yes, Tenth?"

Sighing, Tsuna looked Gokudera over for any bruises. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, Tenth. No need to worry about me."

Tsuna shook his head. "I don't think you get it, Gokudera-kun."

Green eyes shone with confusion, watching Tsuna move about. He flinched when Tsuna's slender fingers softly prodded his forehead.

"What do you mean?"

"We're friends," Tsuna explained, finding no life threatening injuries. He sat back fully, letting his legs rest in front of him. Smiling softly, Tsuna's brown eyes met Gokudera's green. "That means we worry about each other and we disappoint each other, but at the same time, we understand each other.

"I understand what you did, and why you did it," Tsuna continued, "but I don't understand why you promised not to do it again when it helped us save Lambo."

Gokudera looked away, biting his lip. There was silence in the room for a solid minute before the bomber spoke. "I…You were hurt because of what I did. I thought you could handle it, but because I made one rash decision, you ended up getting hurt."

"So did you."

Gokudera's eyes snapped to Tsuna's face. "What?"

"You were hurt, too," Tsuna repeated, eyes firm, face set. "We were at a disadvantage, and if you hadn't run off to save Lambo, then he probably wouldn't be here anymore."

"But you-"

"Yeah I was hurt, but I wasn't killed. But I know how to get myself out of a situation, Gokudera-kun. Lambo doesn't. He was the bigger priority. So I understand why you did what you did. But what I still don't get is why you're promising never to do it again."

Gokudera let his eyes fall to the floor. He grit his teeth as he tried to reign in some emotion Tsuna couldn't quite recognize. "I'm your right hand man and I left you to fend for yourself."

Tsuna's eyes softened. "Believe it or not, Goudera-kun, you protected something important to me, and that means so much more to me than you protecting my life."

Gokudera's eyes were shining again. "I…I understand, Tenth. I'll keep it in mind. As your friend."

Tsuna smiled. "Good. Now let's go see if Lambo stole all of the ice cream."

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 **I'm still requests on tumblr! And for those of you that are following War Torn, I should have the next chapter up by Sunday :)**


	7. Restaurants

There, in a restaurant, surrounded by dozens of gaping customers, he realized the true meaning of infamy.

There was silence. No one moved muscle. Not even the waitress that had greeted Tsuna at the front. He stood slightly behind her, forced to stop when she came up short, too shocked by the sight that greeted her at the table reserved for the Vongola.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, knowing very well _exactly_ why she had stopped and others around had stopped eating.

The waitress jumped, whirling around to gaze wide-eyed at him. "N-No. I just wasn't expecting…someone like _you_ to be sitting with- with someone like _him_."

Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze. A habit that Reborn absolutely loathed. No matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to kick it, though. He had a real problem on his hands, though. He was in Italy, meeting an important person for dinner in a restaurant that probably served bottles of wine for thousands of dollars regularly. But, with all eyes flicking between him and the person he was meeting, Tsuna wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"Well, he's my grandfather," Tsuna summed up lamely, feeling his face heat up.

"Oh." The waitress's voice was small, but she didn't ask any more questions. Tsuna was grateful for at least that much. "Well, here's your table, sir. I apologize for keeping you."

"Uh, don't worry about it," Tsuna said.

He laughed nervously as he took his seat across from the Ninth. Timoteo's eye were lit up in amusement as he watched the scene play out. Tsuna waited for the girl to take their orders and rush towards the kitchen before he let his shoulders slump, his face falling into his hands. He had to physically restrain himself from screaming. Out loud. Where several people, including the Ninth—and probably Reborn, too. Tsuna wouldn't put it past his tutor told bug him—could hear him.

"That was quite the entrance, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna squinted up at the old man across from him. Finally, after a few moments of a stare down Tsuna had absolutely no hope of winning, he sighed. "I swear every time I'm with you in public the whole world freaks out like I've cured world hunger or something."

Timoteo chuckled. "I don't think it's quite that extreme."

"I do," the brunet muttered. "What's so wrong with a Japanese fifteen year old meeting a mafia boss in one of the most expensive restaurants in Sicily?" Tsuna paused. "Okay, please don't answer that."

When all Tsuna received in reply was a throaty laugh, he let his lips quirk up into a small smile. He enjoyed this time spent with his grandfather, even if he had to travel all the way to Italy to do it.

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 **If you have a request, my ask box is open on tumblr!**

 **And sorry for the complete randomness of this chapter. It was an idea my friend had, and I just rolled with it.**


	8. Just a Cut

**I don't know what this is, or even where it came from. Just...I dunno. Here you go. Enjoy.**

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It hadn't been unexpected. He'd run into a couple bullies—a few he hadn't seen in a while. He was usually surrounded by Gokudera and Yamamoto, so it was no wonder the bullies had backed off until they could get him alone.

They caught up with him a couple blocks from school. Yamamoto had baseball practice and Gokudera was out restocking his explosives. Reborn wasn't with Tsuna, either, but he was probably still around _somewhere_. The hitman didn't really like leaving Tsuna alone to his own devices from some reason, but when the three second years approached Tsuna, Reborn didn't come out.

So Tsuna let himself get pushed around with the thoughts, _they aren't worth it_ , rattling around in his tired brain.

Because they really weren't. After all of the enemies Tsuna had faced, three boys barely a year older than him didn't really come closer to the top of the priority list. And when they had walked away, laughing about _Dame-Tsuna_ , Tsuna'd picked himself up and walked the last few blocks back to his house.

Poking at a cut on his cheek with a wince, Tsuna opened the front door. "I'm home!"

Nana yelled from the kitchen, "Welcome back, Tsu-kun!"

Tsuna wandered into the kitchen, catching the scent of something absolutely delicious. He stopped in the doorway, though, since he was still in his uniform, bag still slung over his shoulder, still bleeding. "What're you making for-"

"Tenth!"

Tsuna blinked and backed up a step, suddenly faced with a seething Gokudera. He laughed nervously, holding up his arms defensively. "G-Gokudera-kun?"

But Gokudera was oddly silent. His eyes hard and his expression set. Instead of blowing up like Tsuna half-expected of him, the bomber just grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the kitchen. Tsuna plodded along behind, following Gokudera up to Tsuna's bedroom and letting his friend push him down next to the low table. Tsuna's eyes followed Gokudera's movements, even as he pulled out the emergency med kit hidden in Tsuna's desk.

He let his shoulders slump. "It's just a cut, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna breathed out, not sure whether to be exasperated or frustrated. "I'm okay, really."

Gokudera opened up the kit and pulled out the antiseptic spray and a bandage. Tsuna just let him, even as his best friend stayed uncharacteristically quiet.

Finally, once Gokudera had finished and sat back, he spoke. "Would you like me to walk you home tomorrow?"

Tsuna sighed, a small smile pulling his lips upward. "Of course, Gokudera-kun. I'd really like that."

* * *

 **My computer's fixed, so more stuff will be posted I think. I'll try for at least weekly.**


	9. a piece of pie

She wouldn't give him the last piece of pie. It was stupid, what she was doing. She wasn't immune, no matter what her title suggested, and she wasn't immortal. Doing this would kill her for sure, and no one would be able to handle that.

 _He_ wouldn't be able to handle it. He couldn't let her do this.

Heart thumping against his chest, it pounded in his ears, drowning out almost everything else. Almost. Not her, though. Never her. She was the one thing he wouldn't let go of right now.

She was family whether she admitted it or not.

And he couldn't fail her. If he did, what would Gokudera say? The bomber would probably turn away from him, shoulders shaking, voice trembling, and tell him, " _Don't worry, Tenth. I know you tried your best,_ " and Reborn would get that disappointed look in his eyes again.

So he had to stop her. Because he was selfish, and couldn't bear to lose her. Because he cared about her like she was his own sister. Because she was _important to him_.

"Bianchi," he pleaded. "Bianchi, don't do this. Just give it to me and I'll take care of it."

But she just looked at him, a smile on her face, sadness and regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Tsuna."

She took a bite, and as the world fell apart around him, Tsuna screamed.

Everything was orange.

And Bianchi was dead.

* * *

 **Haven't dropped this story. And sorry for the long wait. I've been trying to catch up on writing War Torn. For those of you who are following War Torn, it should be up by Sunday night. Monday night at the latest.**

 **Please review!**


	10. a piece of pie pt 2

**I'm tired. And this is probably not a good explanation of last chapter at all. So I might have to suck it up and do a part 3. But whatever. Here's me venting again. Me, taking out my problems on the khr fandom (pls send help; im drowning).**

* * *

When he woke up, it was to Gokudera's watery green eyes, and Yamamoto's pitying look, and Reborn's disappointed expression that he somehow managed to convey without actually moving a single muscle.

They told him what happened.

She had done it for them.

 _It was a choice_ , Reborn had said. _A choice between you and her own life. She chose you, Tsuna._

And if that didn't make him feel worse, then he didn't know what would.

It was awful, living with the fact that she had taken her own life just because she felt a need to prove her loyalty. Prove it to who? Tsuna certainly hadn't doubted her for even a _second_. So _why?_ Why did she do something so stupidly brave like that? Why did she have to become another _sacrifice_?

The deaths were starting to tally up, he realized. He could only sit and wait for the day this life became the death of all of them, because he _didn't know how to stop it._

Maybe, maybe if he could just find a way. Find a way to keep everyone safe. To protect them all. No more deaths. No more casualties of this dangerous mafia life.

If only his friends and family were safe.

If only Yuni and Gamma hadn't sacrificed themselves.

If only Bianchi hadn't eaten that damn piece of pie.


	11. Sense of Humor

**Originally posted This one's for seitosokusha on tumblr who asked for #38 for KHR. It's a little more reminiscent of earlier in the series. Hope I did it justice. Thanks for the prompt, Seito! I'm still taking prompts, so if you want to drop by go ahead! (and it doesn't have to just be khr!)**

* * *

Reborn was reading a newspaper when Tsuna walked into the kitchen, a smirk playing across his lips, only hidden by the occasional sip of his espresso. If that wasn't enough of a warning, Tsuna didn't know what was.

The house was already deceptively quiet, not a peep from anyone on the late Sunday morning. And now Reborn had that creepy smile in place? Reborn was Up To Something (and yes, that totally deserved capitals).

"What did you do?" Tsuna asked, settling himself across from the hitman carefully.

"Honestly, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, not even bothering to glance up at Tsuna. But the smirk was still very much in place, even as Reborn turned another page of his newspaper. "What makes you think I've done anything?"

Tsuna groaned. "You've got that creepy smile on your face. You definitely did something."

"If you see me smiling, it's because I'm plotting something," Reborn told him, folding his newspaper in half and setting it down. Looking him straight in the eye, the baby hitman held his hand out for Leon, who obliged by crawling onto Reborn's hand. "But, if you see me laughing, it means I've already done it."

"So you _did_ do something."

"I haven't done a thing," Reborn countered, his smirk growing wider. "Why can't you appreciate my sense of humor?"

Yeah right. Like Tsuna was going to trust that _Reborn_ was joking. Reborn always had something up his sleeve, and Tsuna didn't believe for a second that today was going to be any different. He probably had hell planned for Tsuna and his friends.

"By the way," Reborn drawled, catching Tsuna's attention. And when Tsuna looked back up at Reborn, he paled. How had he changed so fast? And into a construction outfit of all things, complete with neon orange vest, blaring yellow hardhat, and….

"Is that a _pickaxe?!"_ Tsuna's jaw dropped. "How did you get a pickaxe?! I've been sitting here the entire time!"

Reborn's smirk just stayed in place. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Tsuna stared at Reborn, and Reborn stared back at Tsuna until, finally, it clicked.

"The park!" Tsuna moaned. "Our class is supposed to be cleaning it up today! I forgot!"

Reborn huffed an amused breath, the closest Tsuna had ever seen him get to a laugh. "Better hurry up. If you don't hurry up, you'll have to deal with the bombs I planted in the park."

 _"BOMBS?!"_ Tsuna screeched. "Reborn! Innocent people are at the park! What if you kill them!"

"I'm a hitman." The smirk never left his face.

Tsuna didn't even bother to reply. Instead he just heaved himself to his feet and sprinted for the front door. It was only when he made it to the park, completely out of breath, that Tsuna realized that Reborn probably made an empty threat just to get him to the park on time.

Tsuna looked up into a tree, spotted Reborn, who was fingering a trigger, and Tsuna immediately shut up and got to work.

Or maybe not.


End file.
